Today, 20-year-old New Zealand songwriter Leon Van Dijk is reborn as Pelorus, the moniker for his fluid, flowing, electronically-dipped, atmospheric music lead by his first single ‘Alive’. Van Dijk’s layered, breathy vocal blends beautifully with the raw acoustic strings and elegant production with its carefully chosen beats, taps and clicks. The line “I’m in love again” is repeated throughout ‘Alive’, through the mellow interludes and surging, cinematic choruses. Around the time of the song’s inception, Pelorus was making the move to Bristol, New Zealand, which he comments on: “For me the song has a bit of sombre tone I think because of the move I was just feeling a bit uncertain but it’s like an awakening uncertainty.” Although the track is essentially one of freedom, a creative one perhaps, for an artist who casually pieced this recording together at his parents’ (both jazz musicians) home in a makeshift studio. This was also where Pelorus’ debut Perfect Storm EP began to take shape, which will be out later this year. - HT